


Agreement

by Beth Harker (Beth_Harker)



Category: Newsies (1992)
Genre: Canon Era, Critical discussion of social Darwinism, M/M, Mentions of Classism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-26
Updated: 2013-01-26
Packaged: 2019-09-27 14:14:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17163470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Beth_Harker/pseuds/Beth%20Harker
Summary: Jack and David work well together, sometimes.  Skittery POV as he observes Jack and David.





	Agreement

Jack and David were seated up on Jack’s bunk, David scribbling away on one of the good, thick pieces of paper from his schoolbag, and Jack gesturing wildly as he reminded David of all the things that he couldn’t leave out of their letter.. Skittery, for his part, tried to pretend to be absorbed in the penny horror novel he was reading, but all of the bloodthirsty vampires and fainting virgins in the world couldn’t hold his attention completely. Sure, Jack and Dave were practically speaking their own language at the moment, but they were doing it loudly. 

“We gotta make sure they know we exist,” Jack said.

“I feel like we’re repeating a lot of the same stuff from the strike, but it bears repeating. We’ll just have to keep saying it until people listen. Publishing things like that article in the paper just goes to show that they have no idea that there are people out there in the rain selling it. You’d think they’d have noticed after this summer…” 

The article that David was talking about was that morning’s front page runner, “Influenza May Prove Beneficial to Society”, a page long crock of shit asserting that the colds and sicknesses that were making their ways through the city’s poor at an alarming rate that season were just social Darwinism in action, and would be helpful in thinning out the hungry masses into a more manageable crowd. Skittery hadn’t liked the article much either. None of the guys had. It’d been David and Jack, though, who came up with the idea of cutting out the front page of all of the papers before selling them, and David who’d insisted on writing a letter to the editor, with Jack enthusiastically following his lead. It was odd. David and Jack could spend days bickering or going on and on about things that the other didn’t completely understand, but there were also times when they would seize on a common topic or cause, and go at it with the tenacity of a pair of rabid lions.

“Tell ‘em that we’re paying attention to what they’re publishing, so they’d better listen up and pay attention to us,” Jack said.

“I am. Listen: _In making the choice to dismiss the poor of New York in your publication, you are failing to realize that the poor, the starving, and the struggling of New York are the very first people to read it, and decide whether or not it is worth our pennies, and by extension the money of your wealthier and more esteemed customers. You try not to see us because you do not wish to admit that we are the ones who make your way of life possible._ ”

Jack nodded, his face serious. 

“You sure you consider yourself one of the poor of New York, Dave?” Skittery called out. 

David paused in his writing, his face something verging on surprised. 

“How many papes would I have to sell to buy your pen?” Skittery asked. 

Jack, apparently oblivious to the cost of writing paper, balled up a piece of David’s and threw it at Skittery’s head. Maybe Dave was oblivious too. He didn’t stop him. 

“Skittery’s right though,” David said. “I’m lucky in a lot of ways. The article mentioned the tenements though.” 

“By ‘the tenements’ you mean the street you live on,” Jack pointed out. “Said some lady on that street had… how’d they put it? Succumbed to the flu.” 

“Nobody will listen to us if we don’t work together,” David said. “I’d like to think that even if we were as rich as Joseph Pulitzer we still would show more responsibility in what we publish.” 

“When we’re as rich as Pulitzer we’ll turn things around,” Jack said. 

“How are we going to get as rich as Pulitzer?” David asked. 

“We won’t. I wouldn’t want to just for the sake of it, you know. Don’t know what I’d do with all that dough aside from using it to make people listen to me,” Jack said.

“You’d use one tenth of it to be an eccentric and build New York City’s first cowboy ranch, and the rest to try and set the world to rights,” David said, still smiling. 

“Help me build the ranch, so I’ll only have to use a fifth of it, and the rest can go to the really important stuff.” 

This made David smile and look down at his paper, in a way that could have fooled people into thinking he was shy. He cleared his throat.

“Speaking of which…” 

The next sound that Skittery heard was David’s pen scratching against the paper again. He could only guess that he was writing about the issue at hand, and not some imaginary horse ranch he and Jack were never going to get. 

—————————-

All in all, Jack and David were at their writing for two hours. They started out with their letter to the World, and went on to write “opinion articles” for both the Journal and the Sun, that ended with instructions on what rich folk could do to aid the less fortunate during this cold season. The first command was that those on top should take a minute to look at those below them, instead of just gaping in their general direction without seeing anything. 

It was getting late by the time that they stopped, and most of the other boys were back at the lodge, occasionally giving a suggestion to David or Jack, but mostly going about their own affairs. Skittery was getting drowsy. He didn’t think he’d be staying awake much longer. His eyes drifted shut, and when he opened them again most of the other boys were snoring away, and Jack was telling David to either stay the night or get out before Kloppman locked the doors. 

“My parents will worry if I don’t get home,” David said with a sigh.

“Yeah, I figured.” 

Squinting in the darkness, Skittery saw Jack catch David’s hand as he started to climb down to the floor. 

“You’re covered in ink,” Jack pointed out. 

“You like that?” David asked, in a quiet, confidential tone that Skittery couldn’t exactly identify, but which he was somehow certain meant quite a lot. 

“Sure. It suits you,” Jack said, in a (louder) version of the very same tone.

“I’ll see you this weekend,” David said. “Unless our campaign takes off. Then I’ll put off my homework for a bit and come see you sooner.” 

“Yeah, well, we’re going to make sure it takes off. Four days is a long time. See ya tomorrow.” 

“See you tomorrow,” David agreed.


End file.
